Pandemonium at Bay to Breakers! Thousands connect but will Guinness recognize the win?
Today at LinkedIn we’re celebrating the achievement of creating the world’s largest centipede to ever run (okay, stroll) the ING Bay to Breakers. Yesterday at the obnoxious hour of five am, thirty of us gathered in San Francisco to attempt the monumental task of creating an in person manifestation of a LinkedIn network. Our mission: to connect at least 2027 people at the world’s largest foot race, (aka San Francisco’s seven mile block party) in an attempt to break the Guinness world record for longest human centipede.
Armed with megaphones and 5 miles worth of “Connect with me” police tape, we hit the streets looking to sign up volunteers. Like any new network, the first few hundred people were hard to assemble -- convincing people to tie themselves to thousands of other people is oddly much harder than it sounds. Our volunteers pressed on turning skeptics into participants and hastily gathered the signatures needed to serve as proof to scrutinizing Guinness Book of World Records' judges. Our centipede began to grow through word of mouth, each new member asking another new member to join in.
Ten minutes before the start, we hit critical mass and pandemonium ensued. At this point, we had documented over 1600 people, (I personally counted 4 Elvis’s, a few dozen clowns, and a handful chickens to boot), but our process went out the window as the centipede took on a life of its own. Sign up sheets were ditched as our volunteers worked at breakneck speed to connect the swarms of people who rushed to join in the final minutes before the start.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Tallying sign up sheets for the Guinness Record"][/caption]
In the end, our historic arthropod stretched over several blocks and continued to add new connections as the front of the creature marched forward. Thanks to all who participated! While it appears we may have broken the record, Elizabeth Guerra, our tireless recorder is still reviewing the signature lists and video footage to deem whether it can be submitted for the official title. Documentation aside, it was great fun connecting with you all and taking part in this irreverent Bay Area tradition.
UPDATE: The count is in. We have 2375 signatures that we've submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Check out the entire set of pictures taken at Bay to Breakers here.